Brighton, MA --- The No. 18 WPI softball team swept a crucial NEWMAC doubleheader against No. 24 MIT on Saturday, posting a 14-4 victory in the opener before securing the sweep with a 10-7 win in game two. The Engineers improve to 34-2 (15-1 NEWMAC), while the Engineers of MIT fall to 26-6 (12-4 NEWMAC).
 
With two conference doubleheaders remaining, WPI now holds a three-game lead in the race for the top seed in the NEWMAC Tournament and also holds the tiebreaker against MIT. The Engineers can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over Springfield next weekend.  The Pride and MIT are tied for second in the 11-team conference with 12-4 marks with Cambridge's Engineers holding the tiebreaker over SC.
 
WPI exploded for 24 runs on 33 hits across the two games, highlighted by a dominant game-one outburst and a decisive five-run third inning in game two. Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, MA) totaled seven RBI on the day, while Lucy Latour (North Dighton, MA) collected six hits and six runs scored in the doubleheader.
 
Game One
WPI broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning on the way to a 14-4 victory in the opener.
 
Fairbairn led the Engineers with three hits and five RBI, including a three-run triple and a solo home run. Ali Chalovich (Pittsburgh, PA) added a 3-for-3 performance with two home runs and three RBI, while Stella Kozak (Auburn, NH) collected three hits. Latour and Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, NY) each recorded two hits.
 
Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, MA) earned the win, allowing four runs, two earned, on 12 hits over six innings.
 
MIT was led by Holland Poe (Tampa, FL), who went 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Olivia Scarpaci (Staten Island, NY) added a double and a run driven in. Sharona Huang (Duluth, GA) took the loss.
 
WPI jumped out quickly with four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Chalovich. The Engineers then broke the game open in the fourth as Fairbairn delivered a three-run triple and later scored to make it 10-0.
 
After MIT plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth and added another in the fifth, WPI responded with power in the sixth as Fairbairn, Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA), and Chalovich each homered to cap the scoring.
 
Game Two
The Engineers used a five-run third inning to take control and held off a late MIT rally for a 10-7 win.
 
Latour led the offense with four hits and four runs scored, while Nagy added three hits and two RBI. Virginia McKinney contributed a three-RBI double, and Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, NY) recorded two hits and two RBI. Fairbairn added two hits and two RBI, and Chalovich chipped in a hit and scored a run.
 
Abby Merchant (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) earned the win, allowing seven runs on 15 hits while working through traffic across seven innings.
 
MIT was paced by Poe who collected three hits including a triple and drove in a run, while Kaaya Mehta (Plano, TX) added three RBI. Sarah Blackett (St. Petersburg, FL) took the loss.
 
WPI opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single from O'Brien before MIT answered with two runs in the second.
 
The Engineers responded in the third as Nagy homered before Latour and McKinney delivered run-scoring hits, including McKinney's three-run double to push the lead to 6-2.
 
MIT rallied with three runs in the fourth and added two more in the fifth to pull within 9-7, but WPI added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI double from Fairbairn and closed out the victory.
 
WPI returns to action on Friday with its final regular-season home doubleheader against Springfield beginning at 3:30 p.m. MIT travels to Tufts for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday.
 
Game 1 Box Score
 
Game 2 Box Score